Sandwich of the Week went on unplanned hiatus right around the start of the World Cup, when I somehow pulled the incredible assignment of riding my bike around New York City sampling foods from different World Cup countries. Those posts will look familiar to regular Sandwich of the Week readers, so please do check them out. Here’s the post recapping the entire endeavor.

The sandwich

The Chicharon from Juanita’s Cafe in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, N.Y.

The construction

Fried chunks of pork shoulder with sliced sweet potato and salsa criolla on a toasted hero. The salsa criolla, which comes in a ramekin on the side of the sandwich, is a relish largely comprised of red onions.

Important background information

The World Cup food hunt taught me a lot about finding food in New York City and its surroundings. One obvious lesson was that I need to spend more time eating in Jackson Heights, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the world. Another, I think, is that many great meals remain largely undiscovered by the food blogosphere. I’m not about to rule out eating and examining sandwiches generating online buzz, but I also want to use this feature for sandwich discovery at least as much as I use it for reviewing sandwiches others have already endorsed.

Juanita’s came up a couple of times in searches while I was looking for Peruvian food, but I wanted to try Chifa — Peruvian Chinese food — so I didn’t pursue this sandwich shop sooner. I stumbled upon it again while searching Google Maps for sandwiches between my apartment and Citi Field.

Related

I went at an off-peak hour and the place was otherwise completely empty, which meant I had my choice of seats in the lovely little garden area in the back. The guy working there was extremely friendly and helpful, offering menu suggestions (that I ignored in favor of pork), and bringing me a chica morada to sample, with the explanation that it is often enjoyed with sandwiches in Peru.

Sandwich of the Week is not terribly concerned with “authenticity,” so long as the sandwich is authentically food, but quick online research suggests people really do enjoy fried pork and sweet potato sandwiches like this one in Peru. It’s apparently most often a breakfast item there, which is awesome. I really need to check out Peru.

What it looks like

This is the undressed version, as served. The photo up top features both the salsa criolla and aji verde, Peru’s incredible signature green sauce.

How it tastes

Good! Very good. What jumps out, immediately, is the enjoyable texture of the pork, crunchy on the outside from being fried but falling apart into tender hunks below the outer crust. Prepared thusly, the meat seems a perfect and perfectly versatile sandwich centerpiece, porky and a little bit salty and, I think, a little garlicky, but largely subtle in flavor. Give me 10 pounds of this Peruvian-style chicharron and a kitchen full of ingredients and I could make you 20 distinct and excellent sandwiches, I bet.

Juanita’s doesn’t overdo it at all. The sweet potatoes are sliced thin enough to prevent the sandwich from becoming too starchy, and they add a hint of flavor and sweetness to complement the pork. But again, it’s nothing too assertive. Adding the salsa criolla provides the pungent flavor of red onions and an acidy citrus kick, but even then, the sandwich is more notable for its spectrum of textures than its boldness of favor.

But wait! Peruvian food has an all-time ace in the hole in the form of what I am increasingly certain is the world’s best sauce: aji verde, a sharp, spicy, creamy condiment that, in my experience, makes literally everything awesome.

The aji verde in a squirt bottle on the table at Juanita’s is a good one. Poured liberally atop this sandwich, a perfectly pleasant little melody of a meal becomes a triumphant symphony of deliciousness, and every little note and flavor seems perfect and aligned and necessary.

If my writing ever affects any change in this world, I want it to be the proliferation of Peruvian aji verde. If you’re reading this and you run a restaurant — any restaurant, not just a Peruvian one — do us both a favor and start serving the green sauce on the table with every single meal. It’s so good.

What it costs

$12.

Hall of Fame?

Yes. Would this be a Hall of Famer if the green sauce weren’t on the table? Maybe not. But maybe Manu Ginobili wouldn’t be a future Hall of Famer if he didn’t play with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker so many years. What happens happens, and it so happens that this fine sandwich comes accompanied by the Michael Jordan of condiments.

The Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, N.Y. is one of the world’s most diverse and delicious.

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